


Coffee Date

by kaylie153



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Angsty Times, F/M, i dont want to give away too much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 00:50:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20331304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaylie153/pseuds/kaylie153
Summary: Two people meet at a coffee shop. They aren't sure how this meeting will go down.





	Coffee Date

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So there is a tiny trigger warning, but I really don't want to give up a spoiler in the tags, so if you want to make sure that the trigger doesn't apply to you, I'm going to put it in the endnotes. Otherwise, feel free to read on!
> 
> I've been really struggling with my depression and anxiety lately, and this is the first thing I've written since July. I'm just happy that I was able to write something, even if it's angsty. I hope you guys enjoy!!

She wasn’t the biggest fan of coffee. At least, she hadn’t been for the past two years. So, when their suggested meeting spot was a coffee shop, on the same block as their old apartment, it had made her even more apprehensive. They saw each other often enough, the curse of working in the same field, but it had been a while since it was only the two of them. Her best friend steadfastly refused to tag along, claiming they needed to be able to deal with each other alone in this business. Unfortunately, she couldn’t argue with her.

Her hands were self-consciously smoothing out the long skirt she wore. Nervousness had always made her fidgety. Although there was no reason to be so nervous. She was only seeing her ex-husband one-on-one for the first time in almost two years.

That thought made her eyes tear involuntarily. Every time she thought of him, she tried to avoid that word, but there it was, mocking her in **bold**,underline, and _ italics._

“Marinette.”

_ Damn._

She always forgot how beautiful he was. Marinette would never admit to it, but she still had magazine spreads and photocards from his modeling days. Those had ended around the time their marriage began to falter.

Unconsciously, she found herself studying his features. He looked too skinny, his cheeks hollow, and when he slipped out of his coat, she could tell his sweater was too big. Stress made him forget to eat sometimes, but it looked like he hadn’t had a proper meal in months.

“Adrien,” she breathed, standing to greet him.

They both stood very still, not sure whether to hug or shake hands. In the end, they chose to just sit.

Now that her tablemate had joined her, the waitress swept through, dropping by two mugs, then flitting away.

Marinette spooned sugar into her tea, watching as Adrien stared at the cup in front of him.

“Do you still drink the usual?”

His eyes found hers, a strange edge in his gaze. “Yes.” He nodded his head toward her mug. “You’re not drinking your usual.”

Marinette tried to suppress her blush. “I stopped drinking coffee awhile ago.” _ Because it reminded me of you,_ she thought, her eyes fixing on her fingers.

He gave a small nod.

They were quiet again. Neither of them wanted to address why they were there yet but sitting in silence only made it harder to ignore how the other effected them. Almost two years since their divorce, over two years since they had stopped working, and yet they were still drawn together.

Adrien found himself tracing her hands, the memories of those hands on him, in his hair, in his own hands, causing a mist in his vision. He tried not to let himself reminisce on Marinette, but the thoughts were nearly deafening every time he caught a glimpse of her. And now, with her so close, his mind was roaring with old memories.

“How’s Lila?”

His head jerked toward her face. Her gaze was also fixed on her hands.

“We’re not together anymore.” He didn’t miss the smile that flashed along her lips for a brief second. _ Her lips _… “What about you and that guitar player?”

Marinette met his eyes, surprise in her own. “How—?”

Adrien shrugged. “Heard it through the grapevine.”

She narrowed her eyes at that. She and Luka had kept their romance quiet, no tabloids had ever published anything about them. Which meant Alya was to blame for Adrien knowing. “We realized we were better as friends.”

The unspoken was that they had compared every possible partner to their past relationship. To when everything was amazing.

“I thought you two were engaged,” Marinette whispered.

Adrien shook his head. “No, she was just a good liar. I ended it, and we let her go from the company.”

“She was photographed with that ring though.” Marinette had bought every magazine that featured Lila with the ring, Adrien’s mother’s engagement ring, _ her _ ring.

He shook his head again, a hand running over his tired face. “She took it from my apartment. As soon as I saw the tabloids, I ended it with her. And even if I had proposed, I wouldn’t have used _ that _ ring.”

They held each other’s gaze.

There wasn’t much small talk left that wouldn’t result in them ending up on the reason they were meeting, so Marinette plunged in.

“Did your father tell you why we were meeting today?”

Adrien nodded curtly, picking his bag up from the floor to dig out a stack of papers. “This is the contract, but you should go over it with your lawyer before you sign anything.”

“I trust your father to draw up something reasonable.”

His eyes snapped to her. “Marinette, I _ insist _ you have a lawyer look over it. I’m not going to allow you to just sign anything again.”

She was shocked by that outburst. Adrien’s eyes looked so harsh, she couldn’t help gulping. The meetings with their lawyers flooded her mind. Adrien had been expecting her to put up a fight, so he had drawn up papers that would’ve given him the apartment, the studio space, and made her pay alimony since she had been the sole breadwinner at the end. When he’d gotten them back, signed and dated, he had immediately shredded them. Marinette remembered him coming to the apartment that night, furious to see her packing her things.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She had been so tired of the yelling, she sat down on their couch and sighed. “I don’t want to argue, Adrien. Take whatever you want.”

He had stared at her for such a long time, his eyes angry, but the longer he glared without saying anything, the more tired she became. Ten minutes of him trying to find the words to express how it all was affecting him, and she’d fallen asleep. She was softly snoring, right in the spot where he used to hold her when she cried. Adrien was hit so hard by the nostalgia and longing, he didn’t know whether to cry or curse. So, he covered her with a blanket and locked the door on the way out.

The papers she received the next day detailed them selling the condo and splitting the profit. He gave her the studio, because it was her company that was growing inside of it after all. He even gave her sole-ownership of the deed.

Marinette nodded, grabbing the papers to put into her own bag. The words at the top caught her eye, causing a lump to form in her throat.

**DUPAIN-CHENG x AGRESTE**

Because the Agreste corporation’s main brand was _ Gabriel,_ she thought that would’ve been the collaboration branding as well. The name that greeted her was the name they had planned on using for their own business.

Adrien could sense her emotions. His hand twitched to cover her own, but he held it still.

“We can change the name. Father chose this because I co-designed, and I’ll be doing all the photography.”

“You co-designed?”

The line they had been in talks about wasn’t even official yet, but apparently, they’d both been drawing up ideas.

“Just some of the men’s ware concepts.” He couldn’t stand looking at her bright eyes, the pride radiating from her. Her gaze was awakening old, too intimate memories. “Anyway, since I have more of a stake in this collaboration that he does, Father suggested we use the family name. Still has brand recognition.”

“I wonder what will be published about this,” Marinette said softly, finally tucking the documents away.

“What do you mean?”

She sighed, an arm finding its way onto the table so she could rest her head on her hand.

Adrien couldn’t breathe. She had the softest smile on her mouth, her eyes glazed as she disappeared to wherever it was she went when she got lost in her thoughts, and _ god,_ it reminded him so much of their Sunday mornings. They would sit at their patio table, drinking coffee, eating breakfast, planning their future together. Their Sunday routine continued even when they were no longer speaking to each other. All the way until Adrien moved out.

“Our divorce was such big news, us coming together for a brand collaboration is sure to spark up some rumors.”

He tried to take a steadying breath. But Marinette chose that moment to look at him, and he froze again.

His green eyes looked so damn soft, like he was lost in some old fantasy. A blush seeped into her cheeks, and the burning was intense enough, she had to look away.

They were quiet again.

Neither of them had ever been able to put aside their feelings. Even when the screaming was at its worst, one look could bring them crashing together again. Almost four years of marriage, eight years together total since they were 20 years old, and everything had started falling apart after one doctor’s appointment.

Marinette wanted to cry just thinking about it.

They had just passed their third wedding anniversary when they’d decided to start trying for a family. Months of doing everything possible, and they finally got the results they had been waiting for. Adrien had cried and held her. Marinette remembered the day she took the test. Work had been crazy, and when she’d thrown up, she thought it was from stress. Adrien insisted she take a test when she told him.

He had looked so excited, sitting on their bed, waiting for her to finish. Even with how much they had been wanting and planning for this, Marinette found herself hoping for a negative. The company was just starting to gain traction, and that’s where her focus needed to be.

Adrien had only quit his father’s company the week before, wanting to dedicate more time to what would soon be called Dupain-Cheng x Agreste.

He held her tight that night and squeezed the blood out of her hand when they drove to the doctor the next day. They had their first ultrasound, and Adrien beamed like the happiest man on earth. Marinette felt so guilty at how much she didn’t want this baby. She thought she had been ready, but her company was only in its infancy. Not that she could share any of those thoughts with her ecstatic husband.

It wasn’t long after they found out about the pregnancy that the fighting started. Adrien and their doctor warned that she was doing too much, putting too much pressure and stress on herself. They fought nearly every night over her schedule, and Adrien began sleeping in the guest room. Marinette fainted at work, and their doctor told her she needed to take a step back from work. They had their worst fight the night she returned home. He wanted her to stay home and he would handle the studio. But he didn’t understand how much the debut line meant to her and the future of the company. Marinette refused to slow down, she could handle anything.

They were five months along when Marinette realized something was wrong. They spent that first night in silence, just laying together, holding hands. Adrien cried. Marinette felt exhausted. He blamed her, her work ethic, her stubbornness, her lack of faith in him to make her proud.

It was another three months before Adrien moved out. Two months and she was served the divorce papers.

Adrien watched Marinette. He noticed the tremble in her chin. She was in the same emotional state as he was. There were so many unsaid things between the two of them. So many apologies he owed her. As stubborn as she had been during that time, he had been too controlling. But it had taken two years for him to come to that conclusion.

He had known this woman for almost 12 years, had spent eight years by her side, and even with everything they did to each other, even after trying his hardest to move on from her, Adrien knew that he would always love only her.

Marinette found his eyes watching her, a sad smile on his face. That face had gotten her through so many hard times. After the divorce, she still found herself wanting to go to him with every little victory and failure.

Two years was a long time to realize your mistakes. It was enough time to change and become someone worthy of the all-encompassing love they’d offered each other all those years. There were plenty of things to work through, lots to be said, hashed out, forgiven and apologized for. Not that he would _ want _ to be with her again. She’d put him through so much, and he had said some awful things to her… but she wondered if they would be able to… they both had matured so much.

Adrien’s mouth opened before he could fully comprehend what he was going to say. “Would you like to have dinner tonight?”

The grin that had always made his heart skip a beat, the smile he would think of as he fell asleep, blossomed along those lips he had _ so _ missed.

“Only if I can cook for you. You look like you haven’t eaten properly in much too long.”

Her favorite smirk pulled the corner of his mouth up. “Of course. I’ve missed your cooking.”

**Author's Note:**

> TW miscarriage/stillbirth implied, nothing graphic or explicit, I don't even use those words in the story
> 
> You guys can find me on tumblr at marichatandme


End file.
